The Polished Hoe Audiobook By Austin Clarke cover art

The Polished Hoe

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The Polished Hoe

By: Austin Clarke
Narrated by: Robin Miles
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Winner of both the Giller Prize and the Commonwealth Writers' Prize, The Polished Hoe is acclaimed author Austin Clarke's masterpiece.

On a Caribbean island in the 1950s, elderly Mary Gertrude Mathilda commits murder. As she explains herself to police, her story exposes the ugly underbelly of life on Caribbean plantations, with its slavery and brutality.

When Mary-Mathilda, one of the most respected women of the island of Bimshire (also known as Barbados) calls the police to confess to the crime, the result is a shattering all-night vigil that brings together elements of the island's African past and the tragic legacy of colonialism in one epic sweep.

Set in the West Indies in the period following World War II, The Polished Hoe - an Essence best seller and a Washington Post Book World Most Worthy Book of 2003 - unravels over the course of 24 hours but spans the collective experience of a society characterized by slavery.

©2003 Austin Clarke (P)2009 Recorded Books, LLC Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Caribbean Crime

Critic reviews

"Brilliantly written dialogue, a rich, dancing patois that fills out the dimensions of the island's painful history and its complex caste system." (Publishers Weekly)

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This story had such potential. I liked the story being told but the back and forth of it became so annoying that at one point I wanted just wanted it to end. This did not need to be this long.

So So

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Couldn't get into it, way to much detail and jumps around alot. Not a good choice.

Moves to slow

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I slugged through the entire book that lead me on an English history journey. I am trying to wrap my head around it.

A difficult book to read

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I chose this book because it was read by Robin Miles, one of my favorite narrators and because it was set in the Caribbean but like the two previous reviewers, I had to give up. The story kept dragging and dragging - no climax, no form. Not enjoyable at all. Sorry.

I gave up too...

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The plot of this story was good. However, It was too descriptive and gave too many minute details about the scenery. It ended stupid and left so much to the imagination regarding her transgressions.

A dull Hoe

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I just couldn’t get through it so I stopped reading it and so sorry for this bad review but it is my honest feelings.

Hard to follow

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I must heartily agree with the previous reviewer; this book just keeps going on and on and on with no apparent point. I hung in there through the first part and a bit into the second, desperately waiting for something to happen. If it did, I'll never know because I gave up. Very disappointing.

Neverending ditto

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The author gives such visual detail that it is easy to imagine the coast, the plantation, and the people. This is a wonderful story and a must read for any book lover.

A must read

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As other reviewers have mentioned, this novel is slow paced and meandering -- not "edge of seat" detective fiction. That doesn't mean it is "pointless." In fact, it's a rich, engrossing immersion in 1950s West Indies, with all its beautiful and hideous social-historical baggage, captured in the conversation of one night.

I am very glad that I listened to rather than read this gem because the narrator's delivery of Clarke's rich dialogue adds value to this GREAT novel. I love good detective fiction as much as any other Audible listener, but don't download this if you're looking only for that.

the murder mystery is not the point

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This book was so God awful boring.. Clarke Austin this was not good .. never again

I wasted my money

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